In Romans 5:17, the Holy Spirit is saying that we have to receive the gift of right standing with God in order to reign in life. Reigning in life literally refers to our ability to walk in our authority and exercise dominion in life as sons of God, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus.
We have to receive that gift of right standing and embrace the reality that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
We are not being arrogant when we say we are the righteousness of God in Christ. That is because we do not have the ability within ourselves to become or to make ourselves righteous. We are righteous because Jesus became sin for us. We are now the righteousness of God by our faith in Jesus.
We have the same right standing that Jesus has with the Father. As a child of God, we have the same position that Jesus has with the Father. We are in Christ with our life flowing from Him. Receive that!
Don’t overthink or over-rationalize righteousness in your mind. You don’t have to figure it out. Instead, just let it flow out of your spirit. Also, don’t make the mistake of saying, “I don’t feel righteous.” Remember, righteousness is not a feeling. So, don’t wait on a feeling to walk in your righteousness.
Feelings aren’t good indicators of who you are in Christ. Receive the gift of righteousness. When you do, it puts you in a place to exercise dominion in life from your position in Christ.
It is difficult for people to exercise authority over sickness if they don’t recognize their gift of righteousness. It is difficult for people to exercise dominion over lack if they are not sure, confident, and secure in their position in Christ Jesus.
Do you see how important right standing with God is in connection with dominion? In order for us to exercise authority and dominion, we must receive this gift.
It is possible for people to receive the abundance of grace and never walk in the gift of righteousness. They walk around in a limited lifestyle. Although they love God, they are going through life with no authority or victory, and they are being controlled by their circumstances. They are not embracing and walking in this gift of righteousness.
Romans 5:17 says, “…they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” Reigning in life includes victory over sin, sickness, lack, destruction and all that is under the curse. Reigning in life is God’s plan for us in Christ!
Let’s also look at Romans 8:1 for a biblical description of righteousness. We want the Word of God to shine a light on how righteousness is demonstrated and exercised.
ROMANS 8:1
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
This verse doesn’t contain the word “righteousness,” but it describes the condition your life is in when righteousness is at work. Also, the phrase “no condemnation” in this verse is a great example of the expression of righteousness at work in our lives.
If you have condemnation, then right standing is being compromised and violated. We look at Jesus’ sacrifice and see that our redemption and righteousness have been established in Him.
I must remind myself that He has already paid the price to remove everything that would hinder me from asking God for what I need. He has cleared every debt that would stand in my way of going to God with my requests.
Jesus sacrificed His life by becoming a curse for me. In doing this, He paid my sin debt and freed me from everything that fell under the curse, including sickness and disease. Because of this, I can confidently and boldly go to God for all my needs.
My righteousness is established in what He has done. Therefore, nothing prevents me from approaching God.
We have to allow the Word of God to establish this in our hearts until we develop a righteous consciousness. Through the Word of God, we can perceive ourselves as having open access to the Father. We stand in the presence of God without any sense of inferiority or shame. As it says in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”
Now that you are in Christ, don’t put up with any sense or feeling of condemnation. Don’t allow it to hang around. Don’t allow it to torment your mind or hinder your relationship with God.
Apply the Blood of Jesus to that condemnation! You can be secure in knowing that God never uses condemnation on anyone. Never! It is not in His nature.
